Learning how to manage and deal with stress is essential and important of your emotional and physical well-being especially when your are holding down a responsible position in your company.Many people think that stress management techniques are just learning some relaxation exercises, or self hypnosis and the stress will magically melt away.To really deal with stress it is also important to explore and challenge your thoughts, habits, beliefs and perceptions and how these impact how you react to stress and what is happening around you.To reduce the stress you experience it's also important to make changes in how you think, belief systems, expectations, and perceptions in your life. Through my work on the Stress Management Programme for professionals I have put together some tips and strategies to help you learn how to be with stress in a new way. Today's article focusses on gaining an understanding of yourself and how you deal with stress. The next article guides you towards creating changes in your life and how you manage stress.

Tip 1 - Understand where the stress stems from

To understand where the source of stress stems from it's important to have an honest look at your life and yourself.Many people think stress comes from family, work, partners, bosses, financial issues. Where in actual fact stress is just our body's response to the demands that we place on it. These demands may be physical, mental or emotional relating to your expectations of yourself and expectations from others as well as coming from a fear base place.

Tip 2 - Explore how you currently deal with stress

Get a pen and a paper and write down notes on how stress impacts you and how you deal with it.Allow yourself time and space to do this. Think about your behavioural patterns in your life and how these relate to stress. Such as:* Binge drinking* Smoking* Drugs* Emotional eating* Excessive time spent on TV or internet* Are you a busy junkie - ensuring every moment of your day is filled.* Putting things off* Projecting your stress onto others (e.g. anger)

Tip 3 - What are your perceptions, thoughts and beliefs

A major part of stress management is also about exploring who you are and what your beliefs, thoughts and perceptions are and how these impact your stress levels.Many people believe that stress is part and parcel of senior positions, that responsibility equals stress. But is that true? No, stress is just a internal perception to what is happening externally.Write down what your beliefs, thoughts and perceptions are about you and your current job e.g.

I am not good enough for this role.

Someone will find me out.

I can't do this.

It's too hard

Life wasn't meant to be easy

All senior professionals experience high level of stress

Being stressed allows me to hide from my life

Working excessive hours helps me ignore what is happening in my relationship.

I need stress to help me be motivated

These are just some ideas to get you started - they may or may not resonate with you.I would now like you to be with all that you have discovered with the exercises for a few days, digest it, be aware of them and come back and start stage 2 - helping you to change your life.

Linda Connors is a specialist hypnotherapist and therapist helping professionals with stress management.The Stress Management Programme is a combination of hypnosis, counselling, life coaching, and mindfulness. Sessions are available in London in Harley Street and in Somerset in Glastonbury.The lives of the people Linda works with changes significantly.To speak to Linda please call 075 3421 3557